Since you’re reading my blog, it’s probably fair to guess that you’re not content to coast through life, and that you’ve got ambitions that you’re chasing. Maybe, like mine, these ambitions are beyond your current scope. They’re things that will require years of effort to achieve, and maybe the feasibility of ever achieving them is in question.
How will you do this? You’ll need to level up. Your skills or access or resources or maybe all three will have to increase.
The common fantasy is that you’ll meet the right person who can carry you there effortlessly. Maybe I’ll meet Zuckerberg, he’ll decide he needs a blogging platform, and he’ll buy Sett for millions, give me a huge team, and allow me to use Facebook’s resources to usher in a new era of blogging.
Or maybe I’ll have to do it on my own, like everyone else.
So if my big break isn’t going to come from Zuckerberg, from where will it come? The answer is, of course, the advantages I build myself. And unlike connections or blind luck, there are fundamental advantages that I can give myself.
I call these advantages because they’re things that I, and you, can have over other people. If I’m not the only person trying to make a blogging platform, I’d better have some advantages over those guys.
The biggest advantage I can build is to use my time well. Most people don’t use their time well at all, so this is an easy one. Work seven days a week, work long hours, and spend all or most consumption time learning things.
Another big advantage I can build is to refuse to quit. Almost everyone quits when things begin to get dicey, so if I’m willing to push through that, I’m at an advantage.
I can become a T shape person. I can become very good at a few things, and then learn usable amounts about a huge breadth of topics. Very few people do this; most refuse to branch beyond the limits dictated by their stereotype, and even those who do are unlikely to ever master anything.
I can be a good person. This is free, and it makes my life easy and ingratiates me to others. Be happy, treat people well, don’t lie, organize fun things for others. We all have different ways of being good people, and a lot of us do this, but not that many do it actively rather than reactively.
Last, I can take risks. These are where the largest payoffs are, because so few people are comfortable with them.
So often we covet those advantages that we can’t have. Maybe we do it because it insulates us from the responsibility of success. There’s nothing wrong with wanting those things, unless that want comes at the expense of building the advantages that are fully within your control.
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Photo is from the inside of an airborne hot air balloon.
We’re on day 4 or 5 of our cruise now, and we already have about 30% of the passengers doing our secret gang handshake. Can’t wait to share all the stories from the cruise.
A huge thank you to everyone buying my new book! It’s been #2 for a long time in its category!
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